Texans' gadget short-circuits in key moment of game

Halfback pass second-guessed after Brown gets hit, intercepted

DALE ROBERTSON, Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle |
December 7, 2009

Texans running back Chris Brown says the play had 'looked good in practice'.

Photo By Nick de la Torre/Chronicle

Texans head coach Gary Kubiak apologized to Chris Brown for putting him on the spot with the play.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Almost to a man, the Texans circled their wagons around the play that's certain to create a new firestorm of controversy for head coach Gary Kubiak with his team mired in an 0-4 skid, its playoff chances alive only mathematically.

Nearly everybody insisted he was excited — or at least intrigued — when the call came in from the sideline to have running back Chris Brown attempt a halfback pass with the Texans, trailing by 11 points with 8½ minutes left, in possession of a first-and-goal at the Jacksonville 5.

Not Matt Schaub, however. Based on his response to questions afterward, Schaub wasn't excited at all. Sure, the Texans quarterback also had observed how splendidly the play worked in practice all week. But quizzed about the decision after the fact, after it had turned into a costly, momentum-thwarting interception in what became a 23-18 defeat, he didn't sound convinced the circumstances dictated such an off-the-wall decision at such a crucial juncture in such an important game in his franchise's troubled history.

“Gadget plays are good when they work,” Schaub said. “But you have a first down there, you're moving the ball, you've kind of got them on their heels … you as a quarterback want to go for the jugular and have the ball yourself.”

Play worked in practice

In retrospect, perhaps Schaub wished he'd called a timeout to discuss the situation with Kubiak. Short of same, however, as he pointed out, “It's hard for me to raise a question from 40 yards away to the coach on the sideline. I'm out there playing. If it had worked, we'd be talking about what a great call, a great play it was. Hindsight's always 20-20 when you look at things like that.

“It wasn't a … it had worked all week in practice … it looked like it was developing the way we had practiced it. But the guy (Jaguars cornerback Tyron Brackenridge) hit Chris as he was throwing it. Those running backs aren't used to taking a hit when they're throwing the ball and still getting enough on it. ”

Later, Kubiak in effect apologized to Brown for putting him on the spot with the play, which set up as an ordinary pitch right and did succeed in getting tight end Joel Dreessen open in the back corner of the end zone. The problem was somebody — film study will answer who — didn't account for Brackenridge, who got in Brown's face and on his person before he spied Dreessen.

“We had what we wanted, but obviously, it didn't work out,” Kubiak said. “It was a tough spot to put Chris in. It ends up just being a bad call by me, a poor call. It's on me. I thought it gave us a chance for any easy score, but I was wrong.”

Said Brown: “The play looked good in practice, but with (Brackenridge) shooting that fast, I got hit as I was releasing the ball, and I couldn't get much on it. When you look back on it, maybe I shouldn't have thrown it at all. … We had points there. We should have walked away with at least a field goal.”

Dreessen, who hasn't been given many opportunities to catch the ball since he replaced injured Pro Bowler Owen Daniels four games ago, was understandably juiced by the chance the call presented him.

“I got held up a little bit (at the line of scrimmage), but I think he was just getting hit as he was throwing and didn't get enough air under it,” Dreessen said. “I don't know. I was by myself back there. I was definitely open. It's unfortunate. I think it was a great call. When I felt that safety come up and I broke through, I thought, ‘Got ‘em!' But the ball just died in the air.”

Short on time

That, of course, would have been OK. Instead, the ball died in the hands of Jaguars strong safety Gerald Alexander.

Although the Texans were able to storm back to score on their next possession — taking nine snaps to march 46 yards without a bit of treachery or deception – they were down to four minutes after Andre Johnson cradled the 1-yard touchdown pass, and then the defense couldn't force the Jaguars off the field.

“We ran that play for three straight days in practice, and we completed it every day,” right tackle Eric Winston said. “You're told if it's not there, just throw it away or run it. But Chris got hit when he threw it.

“Obviously, it's a gadget play, and on those, you'll either look like a genius or you look like an idiot.”